


making them be honest the hard way

by untitled but hiatus (let_them_be_happy)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Awesome Gwen (Merlin), Awkwardness, Bodyswap, F/M, M/M, gaius accidentally made them switch bodies, gwen knows, possibly permanently unfinished
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 13:59:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11314863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/let_them_be_happy/pseuds/untitled%20but%20hiatus
Summary: It started like this.Merlin had no idea how he ended up in Arthur’s bed, wearing Arthur’s clothes and inhabiting Arthur’s body. All he could confirm was that at some point during the night, he had ended up in Arthur’s bed, as Arthur, which meant that…Oh shit.





	making them be honest the hard way

**Author's Note:**

> explaining how this idea came about would be really long and really tedious and i'm not sure i could do it, so just kinda roll with the fact that gwen and arthur are having a yard sale  
> it's kinda a long story  
> UPDATE 2/23/18: guess what kiddos i wrote more

It started like this.

Merlin had no idea how he ended up in Arthur’s bed, wearing Arthur’s clothes and inhabiting Arthur’s body. All he could confirm was that at some point during the night, he had ended up in Arthur’s bed, as Arthur, which meant that…

 _Oh shit_.

Merlin quickly turned around from where he was staring at himself in the mirror to make sure that Gwen wasn’t actually in the bed and Merlin hadn’t been imagining things when he woke up that morning. Sure enough, Gwen was still missing, Camelot’s fair queen being out of the kingdom for the moment in search of baubles and such to sell at a yard sale - though Arthur was quick to deem it a junk sale. And speaking of Gwen’s dear husband and Camelot’s revered king, Arthur, he should have been woken up by Gaius at this point (assuming Merlin was right in thinking Arthur had ended up in Merlin's body), given the sunlight streaming in through the windows now that Merlin had thrown open the curtains.

Sure enough, the door to Arthur’s chambers was opened - in a very rude manner, if Merlin did say so - to reveal an uncharacteristically angry Merlin in the doorway, holding Arthur’s breakfast on its usual silver plate. “Morning, _sire_ ,” Arthur-in-Merlin said, and Merlin had to admit he had no idea his voice could sound so condescending. He would have to get Arthur to teach him how he did it when this was all over and done.

Before Merlin could even begin to think of an Arthur-like response, the door had been shut and Arthur was crossing the room very quickly, the look on his face telling Merlin how very unkingly his thoughts were. Arthur stared Merlin down, and Merlin’s eyes went wide when the two of them were nose to nose. He had absolutely no intention of being beat up by Arthur because of something that wasn’t his fault, even if he did have the physical advantage at the moment. “Sire, I swear I had nothing to do with this,” Merlin said quickly, his hopes at keeping Arthur’s violence at bay apparently successful when all Arthur did was cross his arms. (Heh, his arms - which was funny because they’re _Merlin’s_ arms but it’s _Arthur_ so - just, never mind.)

“Really, Merlin? You’re expecting me to believe that this is none of your doing when it’s the two of us that have been affected?” Arthur frowned at Merlin and somehow managed to make Merlin’s body look intimidating in a way that Merlin never could.

Merlin nodded, ignoring the way Arthur rolled his eyes when he did. “I haven’t angered anyone that I know of, besides you, of course. But there’s no way you’d ever want to be switched with me, because then you’d have to be _me_ until we got reversed and we both know how much you hate doing your own chores -”

“Merlin.”

Merlin shut his mouth, looking at Arthur again. “Yes, sire?”

Arthur removed his fingers from where he’d been pinching the bridge of his nose. “Guinevere is returning to Camelot today, and I am supposed to help her begin pricing things for her junk sale upon her return.” Merlin let out a silent “oh”. He’d forgotten that part in his sudden realization that he was Arthur and not himself and speaking of not being himself, why was it that he felt so empty inside? It could just be hunger, but it felt much more substantial than that and _OH_.

Merlin doubled over suddenly, Arthur backing up quickly so that Merlin didn’t accidentally headbutt him on the way down. Merlin really wasn’t thinking about that at the moment because _he didn’t have his magic_. After a few moments of heavy breathing, Merlin realized that Arthur was calling his name. “I’m alright,” he answered when he got his voice back. “The after effects of the spell that switched us just hit me,” Merlin lied, rather convincingly he thought.

Though it didn’t look like Arthur believed him, the king-in-Merlin nodded, his lips forming a thin line - probably upset at the thought of Merlin lying while he was in Arthur’s body. “Very well, then. What are we going to do until we find a way to switch us back?” Merlin raised an eyebrow at Arthur as if to say _Isn’t it obvious?_ Arthur started shaking his head. “No, you cannot be serious.”

Merlin nodded, having returned to a straight-backed position so that he and Arthur were eye to eye. “I’m afraid I am, sire, very serious.” He wasn’t able to keep all signs of a smile off of his face though. “You will have to pretend to be me, and I will have to pretend to be you.”

Arthur stared blankly at Merlin. “There is no way you will able to successfully pretend to be me, most especially to Gwen.”

Merlin scoffed, mock offended. “We’ve known each other for eight years! I’ve done your laundry and cleaned your armor more times than I can count!” _Not to mention saved your life_ , he added mentally. “There is every possibility that I could be a convincing King Arthur Pendragon if I so chose to be.” Merlin crossed his arms over his chest, doing his best to look down his nose at Arthur the way the king had looked down at Merlin every so often.

Arthur snorted in disbelief. “Yes, because that is definitely how I look at everyone.” He made Merlin sound so much like Arthur’s own voice that Merlin had to look at him to confirm that they were still in each other’s bodies. Not that the dry sarcasm was something that Merlin was unfamiliar with, given the number of times he’d given as good as he’d gotten with Arthur.

The sudden sound of horse hooves clopping into the castle’s main courtyard cut the snarkfest between them short, both of them looking in the window’s direction before looking at each other with wide eyes. They rushed over to the window, not comforted in the least by the sight of Gwen dismounting from her horse. Merlin recovered first, straightening his back. “Well, I suppose now’s as good a time as any to test it,” he said, moving to the door, picking up the piece of bread from the plate as he passed the desk and idly wondering when Arthur put it down. It was only a few moments later that he heard the sounds of Arthur following him.

* * *

Gwen was more than ecstatic to see Arthur - and by that, she was excited to see Arthur’s body which was currently inhabited by Merlin, so technically she was more than ecstatic to see _Merlin_ (Merlin really had to stop thinking about this). “Arthur,” she said, wrapping her arms around Merlin’s neck in a hug. “I missed you.” Her voice went quiet as she spoke, resting her head against Merlin’s shoulder as best she could. Merlin did his best to act as Arthur probably felt, returning Gwen’s hug and leaning his head against her’s a little.

She pulled away after a moment and Merlin had the horrifying suspicion that she was going to kiss him. Instead, a little furrow formed between Gwen’s eyebrows but disappeared before Merlin had time to analyze it, a huge grin lighting up her face as she pulled away completely. “Come, _dear husband_ ,” she said, her voice teasing as her eyes flitted from Merlin to Arthur and back to Merlin again.

Merlin tried not to choke on air as Gwen began to pull him back into the castle. “What about Arth-Merlin? Should we just leave him here to suffer?” Arthur gave Merlin a dirty look that disappeared as soon as Gwen turned her eyes to Arthur-in-Merlin.

Gwen smiled at Arthur. “I’ll have time to catch up with Merlin later, I think. For now, I think he can help the others unpack everything I got on my travels.” There was a glint in her eyes when she looked at Merlin again, and Merlin shrugged helplessly at Arthur, who just rolled his eyes and went to do as Gwen said. In the back of his mind, Merlin couldn’t remember Gwen treating him like she had just treated Arthur-in-Merlin. That was actually more how she addressed…

Merlin shook his head. He was just imagining things, especially since he was a little cut-off from his other senses with the absence of his magic. “Shall we, my queen?” Merlin offered his arm to Gwen, who accepted it with that mischievous glint in her eyes. The two of them entered the castle, leaving Arthur grumbling behind them.

* * *

Merlin was relieved to find that all Gwen did when they returned was change (in the bathroom, thankfully, and away from Merlin’s eyes) and tell Merlin tales about her journey. She was walking back and forth in her and Arthur’s chambers, packing away things that she’d brought with her on her trip. Merlin had offered to help, but Gwen had turned him down, saying it was an old habit that she was well used to. So, Merlin instead sat on the bed, out of the way.

Gwen hummed a tune to herself, finishing putting things away and adjusting her dress in the mirror. “Merlin, be a dear and grab a piece of parchment and quill, would you?”

Merlin stood from the bed and retrieved the parchment and quill, turning back around to find Gwen looking at him with a wide grin on her face. “What? Is it because I didn’t say ‘Yeth, my love’?”

She bounced on her toes in what appeared to be excitement, clearly unable to contain herself. “It _is_ you then, Merlin!” Gwen ran at him and nearly tackled him in a hug. “Oh, I thought I was going mad when I saw you walk up to me in the courtyard!”

Merlin gaped like a fish when he realized what she was talking about. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he finally said in the haughtiest voice he could manage, which was apparently not very haughty given the way Gwen started giggling before he’d even finished speaking. Merlin deflated after a moment, looking much more like himself even in Arthur’s body to Gwen’s eyes. “Alright, yes, it’s me. How’d you know?”

Gwen smiled at Merlin, looking him up and down. “Isn’t it obvious? You’re absolute rubbish at pretending to be Arthur!” Merlin deflated even more, a small frown appearing on his face and making Gwen giggle again. “That’s a good thing, Merlin,” she said kindly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I’d hate for you to be the kind of person who’s actually _good_ at pretending to be something he’s not.”

Merlin let out a nervous sort of chuckle, looking at Gwen sheepishly when she pulled away from him. “Wait,” he started, his mind changing topics a moment later. “You _were_ talking to Arthur like you normally do earlier! I thought it was weird that you ordered him around like that because you’ve never ordered me around like that before.”

“It’s not every day I get to make Arthur do the things he makes you do all the time,” Gwen replied as a sort of explanation for her behavior. “We should probably rescue him, before he gets too irritated and someone insists that he get thrown into the stocks. I don’t think Arthur would do well having rotten vegetables and the like thrown at his face.”

Merlin frowned in consideration, and Gwen hit his arm. “What? He’s put me in the stocks more times than I care to remember. It’d be a good lesson for him,” he said, trailing after a laughing Gwen as she started to leave the room.

* * *

Turned out, Arthur was apparently far better at pretending to be Merlin then Merlin was at pretending to be Arthur, if the way that no one looked at Arthur twice was any indication. (Merlin was trying his best not to be bitter about that.)

As Merlin and Gwen walked into the yard sale set up, various servants and maids bowed and curtsied and offered lots of “m’lord”s and “m’lady”s as Gwen and “Arthur” passed them. It wasn’t difficult to find Arthur, given that most of the servants seemed to be giving him a wide berth, assuming that “Merlin” was in a bad mood because he was sulking while setting things up on a table. “Hello, Merlin,” Gwen said with a warm smile once they were close enough for her to speak to Arthur without having to raise her voice. “How’re things going?”

Arthur, having realized that Gwen was talking to him, froze where he was bent over the table, clearly trying to think of how Merlin would respond to Gwen, and Merlin had to hold in a laugh at the sight. Apparently, Arthur never paid much attention to how Merlin talked to Gwen. Her husband finally turned around, something that was probably meant to be a smile but was more of a grimace on his face. “Good, things - things are going good, everything’s good. Ho-how are things going with you?” Arthur winced when he stopped talking, and Gwen let out a little laugh.

“I’m fine. Mind if I take a look?” Arthur gestured for Gwen to go ahead and stepped aside, letting Gwen take his place in front of the table. In a brief moment to panic, clearly visible on his face, Arthur moved to stand next to Merlin. After a minute or two, all of the servants had gone back to what they were doing and basically paid no mind to their King and Queen and Merlin, letting Arthur breathe a little easier. Gwen was still looking at the items on the table and making little notes on her parchment. “Arthur, how much do you think this should be?”

“Two silver pieces,” Arthur replied without hesitation. Merlin clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud, and Gwen straightened, turning to Arthur with the same grin she gave to Merlin earlier. It was only when he looked away from the item Gwen had been pointing at and at her that he realized his mistake. “I - I mean, sire, how - what - GIVE ME YOUR OPINION, MY LORD.”

Gwen was trying not to laugh so hard, her shoulders were shaking from the effort. Merlin had completely given up and was laughing out loud, oblivious to the fact that everyone around them was staring at them. “Perhaps we should take this elsewhere,” Gwen suggested, just barely able to maintain a straight face as she spoke. Merlin nodded, still laughing, while Arthur just followed Merlin and Gwen towards Gaius’s chambers.

* * *

“You _told_ her! You were alone with her for all of ten minutes, and you _told_ her!”

Merlin held up his hands. “I didn’t tell her anything, she figured it out on her own.” He frowned, thinking back to what Gwen said. “Apparently I _am_ rubbish at being you.” Arthur shrugged, as if to say _I told you so_.

“Before Arthur goes on to talk about how very right he was,” Gwen started, interrupting before her husband had a chance to open his mouth. “There actually was a reason behind my bringing you to Gaius’s chambers.” Merlin and Arthur looked at her blankly, and Gwen rolled her eyes, silently wondering how they could be so dense. “To see if he knows how to fix you?” She looked between the two of them, and it suddenly wasn’t so surprising that Gaius didn’t know about this yet - or at least, that Merlin and Arthur thought that Gaius didn’t know about them switching bodies yet. “Do you have any idea where he might be, Merlin?”

Merlin shrugged, the weight of Arthur’s shoulders weirding him out a little as he did. “He shouldn’t be outside of the castle grounds, unless someone in town has come down with a sudden illness.”

Just then, the door opened with a loud bang, making all three of them jump. Gaius looked at them strangely, clearly trying not to think too much about why the King and Queen were inside of his chambers - Merlin didn’t surprise him. He cleared his throat, subtly bringing a piece of paper behind his back. “Can I help you, Your Majesties?”

“Yes,” Gwen said quickly. “Arthur and Merlin have a sort of…issue, Gaius. I’m not quite sure how to describe it.” She looked between her husband and Merlin, silently telling them to take up the explanation.

“Is this about Merlin’s lateness this morning, sire? Because I thought he’d already left for the day, since there was a bowl left on the table - wait, that was probably from last night’s dinner,” Gaius continued, having traveled to the table in order to indicate where this bowl had sat. “I gave him a stern talking to about how it wasn’t proper for a servant to keep anyone waiting, let alone the king.” Arthur gave Merlin a look that said _Exactly_. Gaius then spared a moment to look between Arthur and Merlin. “Is there something I’m missing here, Your Majesties?”

Merlin cleared his throat. “Gaius, it’s me. I’m Merlin. Arthur and I have somehow swapped bodies during the night.”

Gaius looked from Merlin to Arthur and back again. “I don't see why you would want to be Merlin, Your Majesty, however I could prescribe something to help with this…idea should you continue with it.”

Arthur huffed, crossing his arms. “I have no desire to be Merlin, but it looks as if I’m stuck as him for the moment.” Gaius looked utterly bewildered when Arthur replied to him, and Gwen just shrugged. “Merlin, would you please tell Gaius here something that neither Guinevere nor I could possibly know about you to prove that you are you?”

Merlin moved to Gaius's side. “I have magic,” he whispered into Gaius's ear, waiting for the old man's reaction.

Gaius stared at Merlin. “That is a sentence I never thought would come out of the mouth of the son of Uther Pendragon.” He squinted at Merlin, and the young sorcerer was certain there was something like glee in Gaius's eyes. “Is that really you, Merlin?” Merlin nodded earnestly, which honestly looked absolutely ridiculous on Arthur’s body. “By the - how did this even happen?”

Merlin looked at Gaius incredulously. “You expect me to know? I woke up like this, same as Arthur! I don’t have all of the answers - when do I ever?” He glanced at Arthur and Gwen, both of whom seemed to be relatively unsurprised by Gaius turning to Merlin for the answers.

“All of the time,” Gwen answered before Gaius could even open his mouth. “You’re always in the right place at the right time.” She shrugged when Merlin looked at her, a semi-betrayed look on his face. Gwen sighed heavily when she looked at Arthur and he shrugged the same as she had. “Well, nothing _bad_ seems to be happening other than the fact that you’re in the wrong bodies. What if it just wears off tonight?”

Merlin and Arthur just looked at each other. “That might just work,” Gaius said, breaking the staring. “Of course, we could also do some readings about how this happened and how to put you back into the proper bodies, but Her Majesty might be correct about what to do for now.” He looked between Merlin and Arthur. “The two of you will just have to act like the other, and do a better job of it if Guinevere here was able to catch on immediately.”

“We might as well just lock ourselves away then,” Merlin said in a frustrated voice, throwing his hands into the air.

Gaius looked to Gwen and Arthur for reassurance, but both of them nodded in agreement with Merlin. “It was truly very bad,” Gwen said, making Merlin groan in embarrassment. “I think Arthur was faring better though, even if some people were confused about his terrible mood. I mean, no one threatened to kill him.” Merlin frowned at Gwen, who just grinned sheepishly.

Arthur rolled his eyes. “How about we lie and say that I’m sick?” Gaius, Merlin, and Gwen all turned at looked at him, and Arthur sighed again. “I don’t mean _me_ me, I meant _Mer_ lin me. Since we’re all in agreement that he can’t pretend to be me at all,” Arthur continued.

If anything, Merlin frowned even more. “This means I’m going to be the one doing all of the reading about how to change us back, aren’t I?”

The three very cheerful yes’s he got in reply didn’t improve Merlin’s mood at all.

* * *

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while, Merlin.”

Merlin looked up from the book he was reading - something about transformation spells - so that he could give Gwen all of his attention. She’d sent Arthur out to go get lunch for the three of them because it wasn’t exactly like the King and Queen of Camelot to go down to the kitchens and fetch their food themselves. Gwen only hoped that Arthur wouldn’t get in trouble for asking for three meals instead of just two. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

Gwen bit her lip, hesitating. It wasn’t like she knew how Merlin was going to react. “How long have you been in love with Arthur?”

Merlin stared at Gwen for a few moments, trying to decide if she was joking or not before slowly blinking at her. “You’re joking, right?” Gwen shook her head, and Merlin just blinked at her again. “You think that I’m in love with Arthur?” She nodded, silently hoping that Merlin wouldn’t suddenly freak out on her. Gwen wasn’t sure she could explain that to Arthur in a way that might make sense. “How on earth could you think I’m in love with Arthur? He’s an ass, a royal one sure, but an ass nonetheless! He never thanks me for anything I do for him, he’s a royal prat who takes advantage of me being his servant whenever he wants!”

“He’s also loyal and kind and brave and you’ve saved his life a number of times,” Gwen replied, stopping Merlin before he could insult Arthur any more. “He _listens_ to you, and according to a lot of people, he doesn’t listen to very many others.” Merlin frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. “Look, I know you don’t believe me,” Gwen tried again. “But look at all that he’s done for you and because of you, not just to you.”

He huffed out a breath after a few moments. “Alright, you might be onto something,” Merlin admitted, his cheeks coloring just the tiniest bit and his ears turning pink. Gwen smiled, pleased that she’d been right. “But what has that got to do with anything? Arthur’s married to you, and is most definitely in love with you.” Merlin looked back down at the book in front of him. “It’s not like he’s in love with _me_ or anything.”

Gwen sucked in a quick breath. “Well,” she said, her voice a higher pitch than normal. “That may not exactly be true.”

Merlin stared at Gwen. “You’re gonna have to be a _little_ more specific.” When Gwen didn’t say anything, Merlin stood up straight, crossing his arms. “Gwen, what do you know?”

She rocked from the balls of her feet onto her heels. “It’s not so much _knowing_ as it is a bit of intuition and careful observation,” Gwen admitted, her hands clasped together behind her back. “You know how Arthur is, it’s hard enough for him to admit that he’s got feelings in the first place, let alone put a name to them and who they’re for.”

Fortunately for Merlin but unfortunately for Gwen, Arthur chose that very moment to reappear with their lunches. Merlin turned his attention to the king, and for once, he did a perfect imitation of Arthur, enough for Gwen to have to do a double take when she looked between the two of them. “Gwen says that you’re in love with me,” Merlin stated, and all of the color drained from Arthur’s face.

Arthur turned his head to look at Gwen, who shrugged weakly and offered an apology with her eyes. “I can’t say I said anything of the sort,” Arthur said carefully, putting the tray laden with food down on the table, about as far away from Merlin as he could get while still being in the same room.

Gwen looked between the two of them, a sort of angry disbelief written on her face. “How blind can the two of you be? You’re clearly in love with one another - don’t give me that look, Arthur!” She gave her husband a stern look when he opened his mouth to speak. “It’s obvious, has been since the first time Merlin nearly died saving your life!” Gwen pointed an angry finger at Arthur. “You defied your father to save Merlin’s life - the life of a _servant_ \- which is something you would never have even considered before meeting him. You married me, for God’s sake!”

Merlin turned back to Arthur in the hopes of sharing an exasperated look with him, only to find the king giving his wife a sort of betrayed look - a very strange experience, to watch himself give one of his oldest friends that look. “Oh my God,” Merlin said faintly. “You’re actually in love with me.”

Arthur sighed, turning to look at Merlin for the first time since Merlin’s scary impression of him. “Yes, _Mer_ lin, I’m in love with you. Because obviously that would go over fantastically well to have the King of Camelot in love with his manservant.” He waved his hand towards Gwen, who seemed to shrink in on herself at that. “My wife’s obviously painfully aware of it, hell, I think all of Camelot knows! Even the sorcerers, the people who want my head, know! The only person who doesn’t know is you!”

Merlin put his hands up, his eyes wide as he watched Arthur become more and more frustrated. “Arthur, I think you should calm down,” he said gently while trying to process the fact that the King of Camelot, his best friend, was apparently in love with him. At the moment, he was more concerned that his magic would go haywire because, while Merlin made magic look easy, it actually took a lot of control to not use magic for every little thing. It was even harder when he was angry or frustrated - both of which Arthur was definitely feeling right now.

“No, Merlin, I will not calm down!” Merlin didn’t have time to blink before a wave of anger just crashed out of Arthur in the form of a rather impressive wave of magic and rammed directly into Merlin, knocking the sorcerer-in-king off of his feet and onto his back on the floor. He did have enough time to realize that Arthur’s eyes, his own eyes really, changed color when he used magic.

Gwen gasped (a little overdramatically, Merlin would say if he could talk) and rushed to his side, while Arthur’d frozen where he was, his eyes glued to where Merlin was lying flat. “Merlin, are you alright?” She helped him sit up while he tried to catch his breath, Arthur still frozen in place. “Merlin?” Gwen followed Merlin’s gaze to her husband. “Arthur? Arthur, what happened?”

Arthur’s eyes were wide as realization spread across his face. “I-I just, I wanted, I thought -” He swallowed as he looked at Gwen. “I wanted Merlin to stop talking, and then there was this, this sort of energy under my skin.” Arthur turned his head back towards Merlin. “And then it flew at Merlin.” Merlin ducked his head when Arthur continued to stare at him, his chest slowly loosening up. “Gwen, go get Gaius.”

Gwen frowned at Arthur. “But Merlin’s -”

“ _Gwen_ ,” Arthur stressed. “I need to talk to Merlin.” Gwen opened her mouth. “Alone.” That was all Gwen needed to shut her mouth, unhappy but accepting her husband’s request. She knew this entire thing was probably her fault, but she had a few concerns of her own, and Gaius was the most likely person to have the answers she was looking for.

Gwen gestured for Arthur to come take her place before she stood and left their chambers, leaving Arthur and Merlin, in the wrong bodies, alone.

The air between them was tense in the time it took Merlin to regain his breath. It was only when Merlin started breathing easier that Arthur spoke again. “If you’re going to deny it, now is a good time to do so, Merlin.”

Merlin shook his head. “I’m not going to deny it,” he said, coughing between a few of his words. “It’s a part of me, it always has been.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. “You do realize how insane that sounds, don’t you? I’ve never even heard of something like that before.”

“Well, neither have I!” Merlin coughed again, ducking his head away from Arthur. “The druids call me Emrys. I’m the only sorcerer I’ve ever heard of being born with magic.” He clamped his mouth shut, the air tense again now that he’d actually said the words out loud.

Arthur nodded after a few moments, his face scarily neutral. “I guess this explains a few things then.” He glanced down at Merlin to make sure he had the other’s attention. “The old man I found rifling through my chambers, how every time there seems to be a problem caused by magic you seem to be there when it’s fixed.” Merlin ducked his head again, but this time out of embarrassment. “Is the last dragon dead, Merlin?”

Merlin shook his head. “No, Kilgharrah’s still alive. He obeys me,” he said by way of an explanation.

“Does that have to do with you being this Emrys person?”

Merlin furrowed his eyebrows, Arthur’s curiosity confusing him. “No, that’s something else.” He looked up at Arthur. “Why’re you so calm about this?”

Arthur shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve heard this Emrys person be called the greatest sorcerer to ever live, you’re apparently Emrys, and I’m in love with you. So,” he continued. “I’m apparently in love with the greatest sorcerer to ever live.”

Merlin stared at Arthur for a long moment, trying to see if Arthur was saying something between the lines. “That’s not an answer,” he replied, moving to stand back up. “If you’re not gonna tell me, you might as well as let me teach you how to control my magic as long as you’re in my body.”

* * *

Gwen isn’t normally one to be suspicious, but the fact that Gaius won’t meet her eyes for longer than ten seconds is making her think that Gaius might know more than he’s telling about Merlin and Arthur’s current predicament. “Gaius,” Gwen said with a slight warning in her voice. She’d gotten very good at it in her time since becoming queen - it was something she’d had to refine very quickly if she wanted anybody to take the daughter of a blacksmith seriously. "What're you not telling me?" 

**Author's Note:**

> "GIVE ME YOUR OPINION, MY LORD" is probably my favorite sentence in any fanfiction i've ever written


End file.
